I just read AS may be adding SEA to Tampa, New Orleans, and Detroit!

[General Lee]

Not to mention Chicago is in pretty perilous financial straits also. A cities financial situation doesn't necessarily equate to lack of passengers.

No, especially if it is a connecting hub. If it isn't for your airline, you will be hoping locals pick your airline, or you can consistently fill it with pax from your existing hub in SEA. If the city isn't doing well, that doesn't help on the DTW side.

Delta seems to be picking cities out West that will provide connections in SEA, to try to grow the hub. New domestic cities, and 3 new INTL connections starting soon (Seoul, Hong Kong, London Heathrow). I'm still trying to figure out how your airline chooses new cities. Sometimes it looks like someone might be throwing darts at a map.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Old School 737]

5 -10 years from now Alaska will either 1 .. Merger .. Or 2 .. Start flying 787's international .. We can't keep growing any more like we have been .. There are only so many place we can fly out of Pdx and Sea .. And so-cal ...So.. Well see

 

[Sioux115]

Apparently very well considering their financial performance over the last 5 years.

 

[Sioux115]

I vote for 787's! Brad'll do it!! But you got to get past the bean counters and the single fleet idea.

 

[Green Banana]

I'm still trying to figure out how your airline chooses new cities. Sometimes it looks like someone might be throwing darts at a map.



Bye Bye---General Lee

How did you do in reading comprehension?
Yes, to you, I'm sure it is confusing. To Alaska it's buisness and data. Do you think they dropped CUN because it was too profitable? Do you think they added Detroit without looking at how many tickets they sold and put on deltas airplanes? Alaska is a money machine with a 12% profit margin. I'm sure many things look random and confusing to you. It's because you don't have the information to make an educated decision. You are in the press box giving an opinion, not on the field calling the plays.

 

[Mamma]

You guys cut the Cancun nonstop from SEA a couple years ago, could have reinstated it maybe, but instead are going nonstop to.....Detroit. Good luck.


Bye Bye---General Lee

Cancun was a low yield market and at the time there were better places to put the jets. If Cancun looks promising again, then you will see us go there. I'm surprised you are not in management somewhere with all your industry knowledge of yields and revenue generation. Really surprised.

 

[CesnaCaptn]

No, especially if it is a connecting hub. If it isn't for your airline, you will be hoping locals pick your airline, or you can consistently fill it with pax from your existing hub in SEA. If the city isn't doing well, that doesn't help on the DTW side.

Delta seems to be picking cities out West that will provide connections in SEA, to try to grow the hub. New domestic cities, and 3 new INTL connections starting soon (Seoul, Hong Kong, London Heathrow). I'm still trying to figure out how your airline chooses new cities. Sometimes it looks like someone might be throwing darts at a map.



Bye Bye---General Lee

Alaska is code sharing beyond DTW, meaning the entire PNW can take our flight to anywhere in the upper midwest and beyond. Alaska is chasing way more than the 300ish average pax that O&D between only Seattle and only Detroit.

I'm surprised we didn't start DTW when we started the code share with Delta. We can dump all of our MVP Golds onto all of those cute RJ's running from the Delta hub out to the Styx.

 

[General Lee]

Apparently very well considering their financial performance over the last 5 years.

When you didn't go to these new cities (SLC-SJC???), and you didn't have a challenge in SEA....


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Cancun was a low yield market and at the time there were better places to put the jets. If Cancun looks promising again, then you will see us go there. I'm surprised you are not in management somewhere with all your industry knowledge of yields and revenue generation. Really surprised.

No, I understand that. But, DL figured something else out, you have to reward your best customers with places that they want to take their families on vacation too. If you want business customer loyalty, a reward for that loyalty pays off in the end. Kinda like adding JNU in the Summer. You'd think CUN would fit that mold from SEA in the Winter. Oh well, maybe DL will add that next Winter....


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[BarbrPole2theOM]

No, I understand that. But, DL figured something else out, you have to reward your best customers with places that they want to take their families on vacation too. If you want business customer loyalty, a reward for that loyalty pays off in the end. Kinda like adding JNU in the Summer. You'd think CUN would fit that mold from SEA in the Winter. Oh well, maybe DL will add that next Winter....


Bye Bye---General Lee

That's correct, although I don't think only Delta has figured that out. Alaska has lots of places for them to go with direct service. Cancun was always full, but the revenue wasn't there. In guessing people didn't want to spend any more to go there over the rest of our destinations in mexico that we have a lot more flights into and therefore able to keep the total cost of the operation lower. Cancun may make more sense then others for Delta for the exact same reason.

 

[Old School 737]

I don't think JNU is gonna happen .for delta .. . I think that delta will come up with bs lawsuit / excuse that Alaska is prohibiting us from competing .. And thats how they will save face by pulling out before it starts .. And since JNU can't be found on a map by most people that's where it will end .. Kind of quietly and disappearing into the darkness

 

[BarbrPole2theOM]

When you didn't go to these new cities (SLC-SJC???), and you didn't have a challenge in SEA....


Bye Bye---General Lee

I wouldn't worry so much about the SLC flights not making sense. If it makes more sense to you, think about it as an addition to our destinations offered from SJC, SAN etc. SLC has been a large hole in the Alaska network for a long time.

 

[General Lee]

That's correct, although I don't think only Delta has figured that out. Alaska has lots of places for them to go with direct service. Cancun was always full, but the revenue wasn't there. In guessing people didn't want to spend any more to go there over the rest of our destinations in mexico that we have a lot more flights into and therefore able to keep the total cost of the operation lower. Cancun may make more sense then others for Delta for the exact same reason.

Well, you do a lot of Hawaii, and that is good for your frequent flyers. NWA used to do SEA to OGG and KOA (mainly a fuel stop for the 757-300 on return), which hopefully DL will reinstate. A second HNL nonstop daily will occur this upcoming Winter, a daytime trip. Those types of flights may not be as profitable, but necessary.

Still, my point was your company is adding cities that seem interesting, and we'll have to see if DTW, TPA, or any of the new SLC routes does well enough to stick around. DL added more cities that were "seasonal", probably because DL can shift planes around to other parts of the country or hubs if needed.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[BarbrPole2theOM]

Yep, I think some if the SLC flying is using jets that were otherwise RON so they aren't using a lot of resources to do it. In fact it may even increase crew productivity by adding another short leg to the day, much like Southwest. I think Alaska has stayed out of the market as an unspoken agreement with Delta, but that has obviously changed with Delta building up SEA domestically.

 

[General Lee]

I wouldn't worry so much about the SLC flights not making sense. If it makes more sense to you, think about it as an addition to our destinations offered from SJC, SAN etc. SLC has been a large hole in the Alaska network for a long time.

Ah, I don't know about that. SLC has been a connecting hub that competed with DEN to cities in Montana, Colorado, SD, ND, etc. SLC itself has some O&D due to Winter Skiing etc, but it's not a huge city.

Let's see if you guys can fill daily flights without connections. One thing is good for DL pilots though, because of your move, DL will increase the size of the SLC hub by 8%. That's good, and building the SEA hub up internally also is awesome.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Mamma]

One thing is good for DL pilots though, because of your move, DL will increase the size of the SLC hub by 8%. That's good, and building the SEA hub up internally also is awesome.


Bye Bye---General Lee

Growth of both airlines is a "win win" for all pilots!

 

[CesnaCaptn]

No, I understand that. But, DL figured something else out, you have to reward your best customers with places that they want to take their families on vacation too. If you want business customer loyalty, a reward for that loyalty pays off in the end. Kinda like adding JNU in the Summer. You'd think CUN would fit that mold from SEA in the Winter. Oh well, maybe DL will add that next Winter....


Bye Bye---General Lee

Alaska's mileage plan has been ranked time and time again above its peers.

I'm pretty sure our best customers feel rewarded by being able to take their families anywhere our mileage partners fly:

Aeromexico
Air France
American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Delta Air Lines
Emirates
Era Alaska
Fiji Airways
KLM
Korean
LAN
Penair
Qantas

Does that cover enough of the globe for you? I'd venture to guess that our mileage plan members have as much choice, if not more choice, since they don't need to stick to one global alliance.

At least our frequent flyers don't refer to our miles as SkyPesos.

 

[General Lee]

Alaska's mileage plan has been ranked time and time again above its peers.

I'm pretty sure our best customers feel rewarded by being able to take their families anywhere our mileage partners fly:

Aeromexico
Air France
American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Delta Air Lines
Emirates
Era Alaska
Fiji Airways
KLM
Korean
LAN
Penair
Qantas

Does that cover enough of the globe for you? I'd venture to guess that our mileage plan members have as much choice, if not more choice, since they don't need to stick to one global alliance.

At least our frequent flyers don't refer to our miles as SkyPesos.

Uhhhh, do you have 25 million members? I didn't think so. Did you make $1.3 billion in one quarter last year? How about all of last year? I didn't think so. Remember, a lot of this that has happened is because you guys couldn't pick one friend to be loyal to, and that may have been a big mistake on your part. But, the DL pilots thank you A LOT!

What's great is that your mileage plan members will now get a choice in SEA. And many of those airlines above don't go to SEA (Cathay, Qantas, LAN, etc) adding another obstacle in convenience for the busy business guy and his family. Nah, they want seamless travel on one airline....



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Growth of both airlines is a "win win" for all pilots!

I agree Mamma, I agree.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Mea25000]

Uhhhh, do you have 25 million members? I didn't think so. Did you make $1.3 billion in one quarter last year? How about all of last year? I didn't think so. Remember, a lot of this that has happened is because you guys couldn't pick one friend to be loyal to, and that may have been a big mistake on your part. But, the DL pilots thank you A LOT!

Ah I think the better question to ask is... Have we ever been in bankruptcy or have we ever lost billions in just one quarter. You must have amnesia.. Emirite